[FWD] from Tod Landis Protection From Bullies

[tobeth@lava.net (Beech Family)]

  Subject:  Protection From Bullies
  
  When I brought up the Wilkins case I did so because I
  thought his case would strike a chord with participants on
  this list.  A Washington DC attorney, Wilkins was detained
  and hassled by Maryland police.  His case has been
  championed by the ACLU.
  
  There are certain ironies about his case and our current
  discussion.  For one thing, Wilkins is a Harvard graduate;
  Gates, I understand, is a Harvard drop out.  For another,
  in the same way that Wilkins need protection from powerful
  bullies and looked to the ACLU to provide it, many members
  of the software industry need protection from powerful
  bullies and are looking to the DOJ to provide it.
  
  I learned this morning that my nephew, who is African American,
  was detained first by an Oakland private security officer and
  then by the Oakland police.  He spent the night in juvenille hall
  because his mother called "too late" to rescue him.  (He has an
  uncle who is an attorney and a friend who is a law school
  professor, so it won't stop there).  He told his mother that he
  "made new friends" in the juvenille hall.
  
  We all have to be concerned about situations like this.